Netherlands: Prime Minister defends himself after deleting text messages on his phone

Did Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte break the law by deleting text messages?

He defended himself on Wednesday May 18 by explaining that he had archived all the important messages and deleted the others, on an old mobile phone, to free up space.

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Mark Rutte, whose devotion to his former Nokia model has long stuck to his frugal public image, gave his explanations after Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant sought access to government communications during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Strict Archiving Law

“

”, defended himself in front of journalists Mark Rutte, nicknamed

” by the Dutch media because of his ability to survive scandals.

He stressed that he had not broken the Records Act, insisting that he had "

" hidden important matters by deleting posts.

According to the Dutch Archives Act, certain government correspondence must be kept in order to be able to explain to the public – including MPs and journalists – why certain choices were made.

The 55-year-old head of government personally determined which messages were important enough to pass on to a government official for archiving, De Volkskrant said.

“Not a big fan of smartphones”

The daily had in 2020 launched legal proceedings to access Mark Rutte's messages, relying on a decision the previous year that SMS and WhatsApp messages were included in the archives law.

But the newspaper said it was surprised to have only received messages from the prime minister to his staff and asked for more information.

A lawyer representing the Dutch state said on Tuesday that the head of government had carried out "

" and that there was no reason to suspect a crime.

The Prime Minister, "

" in his words, and known for his frugal attitude and his bike trips through The Hague, explained that he kept his old model as part of his duties.

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The thousands of messages received by the head of government have, according to the latter, slowed down the device, which is why he began to delete some.

Mark Rutte's press officers have meanwhile confirmed that he now has a smartphone, as his old phone had no network during a visit to the United States.